Jack.



00 0 9 l 0 3 E N U J D E T N E T A P. m m 0 W DE x. QW K L3 0 RMA En SB m L 0 6 9, 1 9 8 n N APPLICATION FILED NOV. 28, 1904. RENEWED NOV. 2, 1907.

2 SEBETSSHEBT 1.

N 891 960. PATENTED JUNE so 1908.

o A. SEARLS, DEGD.

L. A. SBAELS, BXEOUTRIX.

J AGK.

APPLICATION FILED NOV. 28, 1904. RENEWED NOV. 2, 1907.

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UNITED STATES PATENT ()FFIQE.

ANSON SEARLS, OF NEWARK, NEW JERSEY; LUCY A. SEARLS EXEOUTRIX OF SAID ANSON SEARLS, DECEASED.

JACK.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented June 30, 1908.

Application filed November 28, 1904, Serial No. 234,494. Renewed November 2, 1907. Serial No. 400,380.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, Anson SEAR-LS, a citizen of the United States of America, residing at Newark, in the county of Essex and State of New Jersey, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Jacks, of which the following 1s a specification, reference being had to the accompanying drawings, forming part of the same.

Figure 1, is a side elevation of a jack embodying my invention, opened and set in position for lifting a body placed over and upon the head of the lifting bar, the extension and the rack hereinafter described be- U ing each shown as partially raised. Fig. 2,

shows the operative parts of the same device in the positions they have when the load is being lowered. Fig. 3, is a face view of the head-piece of this jack. Fig. 4, is a side view of the jack in position for loweringthe load, but having the supporting legs folded together. Fig. 5, is a view similar to that of Fig. 4, exce t that portions of the supporting legs are bro en away to more clearly exhibit the arrangement of the other parts, and the rack and telescopic section are respectively at their lowest points. In short the jack is closed for transportation or packing. Fig. 6, is a vertical sectional view of the device of Fig. 4, on the line of m w as shown in Fig. 3, but showing the telescopic section in full lines. Fig. 7, is a face view of the rack I prefer to employ. Fig. 8, is a face view of the telescopic section. Figs. 7 and 8 are respectively cross sectional views of the rack and the section of Figs. 7 and S, and Fig. 9, is a perspective view of the upper portion of a modified form of jack which I em loy for lifting the heavier vehicles, the teIescopic section being omitted to more clearly exhibit the other parts.

My invention relates to lifting jacks adapted to raise vehicles, particularly automobiles, so that a tire may be removed or replaced or repairs made or other operations performed, though its uses are not confined within those limits.

It consists in various features more particularly pointed out in the claims, some of which are; the arrangement by which the head piece or standard is always held in line to properly support the load to be lifted; the construction W ich enables me to use the jack whether its supporting legs are open or closed and various other features.

In its preferable form, my jack consists of a head-picce II, to which are pivoted a pair of legs L, L though one of them might be pivoted to the other or the head piece might be integral with one leg to which the other might be secured. The legs are usually in skeleton form for lightness and strength, and pivoted to the head piece at p and phone pivot preferably above the level of the other. Pivot 7), may extend across the head piece, but log L has duplicate rivets 9 which do not so extend. From the head piece or standard II, an arm A extends downward to form a guide piece and in it I form a slot 8. Then to each leg I pivot one link of a brace Z, Z, hinged at g), and having an extension 0 inserted into slot 8, the result of which is, that when the legs are spread, the brace opens, the links swing downward carrying the lug or extension 6, to the bottom of slot 3, and thus hold the head in a vertical position. \Vhen the ack is closed the sides of the guide piece A bear against the cross bars of the leg frame and still hold the head piece vertical, although the brace is not then in action. This is plainly seen in Fig. 5, an extension c being utilized to avoid extra weight in arm A. The foot of the legs are formed with two planes, that there maybe a good bearing surface for supporting the jack both when it is opened and when it is closed, and the parts are shaped as shown that one foot may close into the other for stability (see Figs. 5 and 6), a catch a, being provided to insure their remaining closed until that is unlatched, and stops 8*, s, to limit the movement of the catch and retainit always in suitable position for immediate and automatic engagement. The head piece or standard II, thus secured to stand upright, is provided with ways to, though I do not limit myself to such, and in these ways I mount a rack R. Its form is preferably that of a ladder with a series of teeth or rounds 1*, constructed with their faces inclined at angles other than a right angle to the axis of the bar, as they thereby hold better and aid in operating the pawls, thougl'i inclines on the pawls might be caused to produce much the same effect.

Pivoted to the upper part of the headpiece is a lever A with a long arm and a short arm. The long arm is intended to be moved by the hand or foot of the user. The short arm of lever A, is preferably forked and so pivoted at 29 as to bring its ends 011 the other side of head II, from that where the long arm is, and to the ends of the short arm I link a hook or pawl P. This hook is preferably V shaped, with an inwardly and upwardly extending nose n, on the inside, and hung with its nose lying normally within the line of the rack teeth 1', so that when the long arm of lever A is raised, the pawl P descends and takes under a tooth 1', of the rack for the inclined face of the tooth will tend to swing the pawl outward and permit it to pass down over the edge of the tooth and the weight of the pawl causes it to swing its nose upward again, under the said tooth.

The rack R, is hollow and preferably trough shaped as shown in section, at Fig. 8 and the telescopic section T, is so shaped as to lie in the said trough of the rack R. Apertures a are formed in the telescopic section and lugs Z Z upon rack R, (or vice versa) all so spaced that they will engage each other, and thus if a higher body is to be lifted the telescopic section may be run out, as seen in Figs. 1, 4 and 6, or higher, whereby,'and by pivoting the lever at the top of the headpiece, I produce a jack which can be extended to nearly three times its closed length, thus accommodating it to very many uses. A further telescopic section might be made to fit within section T, and so on, but I find one sufficient. At the top, section T is provided with a head h; fluted or curved as shown, that it may take upon any axle, rod or part I may desire to lift, and to give support and economize space, I form the upper part of rack R, to fit the under part of this head it, and I further form a lug Z, on the rack, to assist in supporting the telescopic section and also in connection with a lu Z at the of the lever.

, back to its vertical lower part of the telescopic section, to prevent the accidental separation of these parts; for part T, could not be drawn vertically out of the hollow of part B, but must, when nearly out, be turned almost at right angles thereto to cause lug Z to pass lug Z, and then position to cause lug F, to pass lug l Pivoted to the head piece at 9 preferably below pivot 10 is a second pawl P called the holding pawl. In form and general arrangement it corresponds with pawl P, though set below and hung from the head-piece instead Its nose n slides over and drops under the teeth of the rack one by one, as that is raised, and the stroke ofthe pawl P, and the space between the noses of pawls P, and P when they are at their limits of divergent movement, are preferably greater than the spaces between teeth 7", of the rack (or a multiple of said spaces) in order that pawl P may take, or be in position to take, under a tooth, an instant, at least, before pawl P reaches its limit of movement.

When the long arm of lever A, having reached 1ts ClOVVIWVELICllll'Dlt of movement, 1s

- and P lifted for a new movement, the holding pawl P being in position, will sustain the rack and its burden, while the long arm of the lever is being carried up and pawl P is being swung down for a new holding, and thus a very convenient and powerful combination for lifting Weight is provided.

When the weight, and consequently the rack, is to be lowered, some means must be provided for reversing the action of pawls P Pawl P must hold the rack while awl P, ascends, (instead of descends) and reease it when pawl P, sustaining the load, is ready to descend; while pawl P, must engage the rack at or near the upper end of its stroke and release it at or near the lower limit of that stroke. To accomplish this reversal, I have provided a counterweight 0, though I do not limit myself to its use. It may be and preferably is ivoted on the pin p oppositely to pawl P ut has an arm (1, extending out on the same side with awl P, that itmay at times engage that paw and, to that end, it is slotted, as seen at 8 and a lug Z, on the pawl, projects through the slot, both so proportioned and arranged that the bottom of the slot and the lug will engage before the weight reaches its downward limit of throw, and when it does reach that limit, it will have raised pawl P sufliciently to clear the teeth 1", of the rack, thereby permitting that to descend, the gravity of the counterweight being preferably but little more than sufficient to ift pawl P The counterweight C has also a catch 0, adapted to engage the side of the frame H and support weight 0, from acting upon pawl P while the load is being lifted. To permit the latching of catch 0, the weight C is very loosely pivoted. As pawl P, must at times be released at the lower limit of its stroke as noted, and held from engagement with the rack for a time, I find it convenient and preferable to utilize this same counterweight C, as the means, and to also make use of the added weight of pawl P, to overcome the tendency of weight C to hold P from engagement with the rack, and to permit such engagement just before pawl P completes its lowering stroke. I therefore extend a finger f, from pawl P (or so secured to it, mediately or immediately as to operate in unison therewith) adapted to engage the arm a, of counterweight C.

Now assume the rack is set as shown in Figs. 4 and 6. The load, if there were one on rack B, would be held by pawl P. Lug Z is engaged by arm a, and pawl P is held out of the path of the rack by the gravity of counterweight G. Then the long arm of lever A is lifted, and pawl P and finger f, descend. Soon finger f, engages arm a, and the weight of pawl P and its load is added to that of P Together they overcome the gravity of weight C and as pawl P descends further, that weight 0 moves upward till it disengages the wall of slot 8 from the lug Z Pawl P is thus relieved and its own weight carries it downward to a position for engagement with a tooth r, of the descending rack R. Before pawl P has reached the lower end of its stroke, that engagement of tooth r, with pawl P takes place, and the further lowering of pawl P, leaves the load suspended upon P whereupon the counterweight, acting} through arm a, and finger f, will swing pawl P out of engagement with the rack, (as shown in Fig. 2) and pawl P may be freely raised by depressing lever A. The base of slot 8 of course made contact with lug Z when pawl P was raised, but pawl P being then reinforced by the rack and its load, was too heavy to be lifted by the gravity of counterweight C, and re mained in position holding the load while pawl P was raised for a new lowering step. The descent of counterweight C is stop ed by the engagement of arm a, and lug l, efore pawl P reaches the upper limit of its stroke and when it is thus stopped, finger f, will leave arm a, and there is then nothing to prevent the gravity of pawl P. from returning it to a point within the line of teeth r. It will engage a new tooth 1*, just before it reaches its up er limit of throw, and will then lift the racr and its load a trifle, because of the relative spacing of the parts above named. \Vhen this occurs, the weight of pawl P will be again overcome by that of the counterweight and pawl P will again swing outward to the positions shown in Figs. 4 and 6, leaving the device ready for another downward step. The step by step movement downward may be avoided and the rack dropped at one movement by holding the counterweight in the position of Fig. 4. Pawl P will be forced out of engagement as already described and the load will come down with a run, though this is not generally desirable.

The modification shown in Fig. 9, is, in the main, similar to that already described; but it diflers in details that are im ortant when heavy weights are to be raiser. The rack R instead of being ladder like, is serrated on one face, more like a lain rack, and has teeth r cut in at the sic es, instead of being formed by apertures at the front. Then the pawl P instead of merely reaching down over the front of the rack and under the teeth, is formed with arms extending down at the sides of the rack and a cross-bar M, which takes under teeth 1", replaces nose n. The result of these changes is, that the point of application of the weight is nearer the point of pivot of the lever and it therefore requires less power to raise a given weight than when otherwise arranged. Greater strength in the parts is also secured. I also form the pivots p integral with pawl P for purposes of strength and economy,

and cut notches in lever A to receive these pivots, closing the edges of the notches down over the pivots when they are in place.

It is manifest that my jack may be used, either extended or closed that it will fold into very small compass for packing in a tool box or other receptacle; that it isof great strength, light of weight, exceedingly convenient, may be operated by foot when set under a vehicle where it would be difficult to reach the lever by hand; so designed as to be readily and cheaply made and though some sizes of it may be shut into a space 12 inches by 3 by 2%;- or less, (ready to take under the axle of a heavy wheel, with collapsed tire, whose diameter is only 28 inches), it may also be extended to raise a wheel whose diameter is fully 50 inches. Furthermore, it cannot be wrongly set up, a point of very great importance, since other jacks of great merit have been condemned for the want of this feature, because inexperienced persons use them and if set wrongly they will not properly sustainthe estimated weight but break under loads very much less than their medium capacity properly set. This can be operated to its full capacity by a novice.

l/Vhat I claim as my invention and desire to secure by Letters Patent is 1. In a lifting ack, the combination of a rack, a standard, a swinging support and a swinging brace connected to the standard and to the support, together with means for raising the rack, all substantially as set forth.

2. In a lifting jack, the combination of a rack, a standard, a swinging support and a swinging brace connected to the standard and to the support, one of which is grooved to receive the pin connecting it to the brace and to the other of which it is pivoted, together with means for raising the rack, all substantially as set forth.

3. In a lifting jack, the combination of a rack, a standard, two swinging legs and a swinging brace, connected to the standard and to the legs, together with means for raising the rack, all substantially as set forth.

4. In a lifting jack, the combination of a rack, a standard, two swinging legs and a swinging brace connected to the legs and to the standard which is grooved to receive the pin connecting it to the brace, and to the others of which it is pivoted, together with means for raising the rack, all substantially as set forth.

5. In a lifting jack, the combination of a rack, a standard, swinging supports which when closed abut against the standard and hold it in vertical position, together with means for raising the jack, all substantially as set forth.

6. In a lifting jack, the combination of a rack, a standard, swinging supports, which when closed abut against the standard and hold it in a vertical position, together with engaging devices on the supports, whereby they are retained in a closed position, and means for raising the ack, all substantially as set forth.

7. In a lifting jack, the combination of a lifting bar, a standard, swinging supports with bases set at an angle one part to the other, means for holding said supports with either series of bases in one plane, together with means for raising the lifting bar, all substantially as set forth.

8. In a lifting jack, the combination of a lifting bar, a standard, swinging supports with bases set at an angle one part to the other, and pivoted to the standard on different radii, whereby a part of one base may shut within a part of the other support, means for holding said supports with either series of bases in one plane, together with means for raising the lifting bar, all substantially as set forth.

9. In a lifting jack, the combination of a rack, a standard provided with grooves to receive said rack and a guide piece provided with a slot, swinging legs pivoted to said standard, a hinged brace pivoted to said legs and connected to said guide piece by a sliding pin extending into said slot, together with means for raising said rack, all substantially as set forth.

10. In a lifting ack, the combination of a by a sliding pin extending into said slot, an

operating lever pivoted to the standard, two

pawls, one pivoted to the standard and one to the operating lever, a counterweight pivoted to the standard, and engaging devices upon said pawls, said counterweight and said head piece, arranged as described, to intermittently engage one another, all substantially as set forth.

11. In a lifting ack, the combination of a movable rack having one serrated face, a standard, a pawl with arms extending down at the sides of the rack and a cross-baradapted to take under said serrations, a lever pivoted to the standard and carrying the pawl, and a second similar pawl secured to the standard, and adapted to engage and hold the rack intermittently, all substantially as set forth.

In testimony whereof, I have signed my name to this specification in the presence of two subscribing witnesses, this 11 day of November 1904.

AN SON SEARLS. Witnesses:

L. D. CHURCH, A. G. N. VERMILYA. 

